This disclosure relates generally to providing electronic media content items to client devices and in particular to automatic placement of electronic media content items within online documents presented via client devices.
Online systems often present documents to clients. For example, an online system may present a news article, a science article, a document provided by another client and so on. Such online documents are viewed by clients on client devices, for example, a laptop or a mobile device. Clients typically scroll through an online document on a client device.
An online document may include text along with media objects, for example, images, and videos. Online systems often embed content items within an online document presented to a client, for example, images or videos. The client experience provided by an online document including embedded content items often depends on where the embedded content items are placed within the online document. For example, certain placements of the content items may distract the client from the content of the online document or from other content items placed within the online document.
Conventional techniques for presenting online documents with content items often embed the content items within the online document in a manner that provides poor client experience. Poor client experience leads to fewer client interactions with content items or the online document. Fewer client interactions may result in lower client membership of the online system. For example, where the online system is a social networking system, clients may be less likely to engage with their social networks if the content provided by the social networking system is not well presented or is difficult to follow.